Notes / Commercial Description:
Too extreme to be called beer? 120 Minute IPA is brewed to a colossal 45-degree plato, boiled for a full two hours while being continuously hopped with high-alpha American hops, then dry-hopped daily in the fermenter for a month and aged for another month on whole-leaf hops!

Reviews by BeerandWhiskeyHQ:

Appearance
Dark gold, clear, no head, not much lacing to speak of
Smell
Light-moderate Malt scents and citrusy hops come through along with the strong presence of alcohol. By smelling this, you know it’s going to be a big one.
Taste
Strong malt and hop presence, quite the kick of flavors. It sure has a “wow” factor. There was a really strong alcohol presence in the finish.
Overall
I had to pick this up when I saw it for the first time. I wasn’t sure what I would think of it but it was Dogfish’s fabled 120 minute so I had to buy it... For $20.00 for one 12oz bottle. It was good, but something more novelty than anything, I had a 1000 IBU beer off tap for $20.00 a glass once that was way more intense of an experience

More User Reviews:

5/5 rDev +26.3%look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

I will preface this review by saying that I don't think I've ever rated a beer a full 5. The idea of finding a "perfect" beer is a little ludicrous, if you ask me. Poured from a 12oz bottle @ ~40F into an oversized short wine glass.

Appearance: Oh my goodness. Absolutely stunning. As I poured, it was a brilliant, bright orange color that reached a glowing, deep orange in the middle, and then slightly lighter at the top. It reminded me of the color of a ripe papaya - just the most vibrant, brilliant, gorgeous shade of orange that I've ever seen in a beer.

Smell: Intoxicating. If I had a slightly larger/wider snifter, I would have used it here. However, the wine glass with the taper at the top helped to gather the smells… certainly more so than a regular pint glass. I picked up many tropical notes including orange, grapefruit, and perhaps a hint of cantaloupe. I’m no expert in isolating specific smells/flavors, but I could tell that there was a lot going on here. I won’t attempt to name 10 different fruits/smells, because at some point the majority of them blend together into a heavenly tropical smell.

Taste: Mind-blowing. It really is something out of a fantasy. An explosion of juicy, bright tropical fruits massaged my palate as I let the sip rest on my tongue for a few seconds to warm up and soak in. The malt takes a back seat as you would expect, with the bitterness of the hops pushing all the right buttons. I absolutely love IPAs and DIPAs, so I can appreciate a good balance between bitterness and flavor. I love a good hop bomb, but those are easy to make. It is much more difficult to make a balanced IPA. I don’t like my IPAs to be too bitter or resinous, but I also don’t like them to be completely floral or citrusy without any bite to back up the flavor. They really nailed it — it’s got the perfect bitterness, a subtle but present floral taste that could easily be missed, and the citrus and tropical flavors launching a full-on assault of the palate. The taste of DFH 120 is simply too good to be overstated.

Mouthfeel: The DFH 120 mouthfeel fits my ideal criteria. At first there was a bit of a bite, like excess carbonation combined with the high alcohol content. The carbonation is right on the money, though. Not too much or too little. It’s juicy enough to wet your palate, but dry enough to have the perfect amount of bite. The high ABV warms the palate as well, but it’s not as hot as I expected it to be. I’ve definitely had hotter mouthfeels from DIPAs and Imperial Stouts around 10-15% ABV. For comparison, Surly Sÿx was significantly hotter at the same temperature than the DFH 120. They got the balance just right with this one. I noticed that when I smiled, the alcohol gave a nice little burn on my gums. It seems inconsequential, but it added to the enjoyment of this brew a lot.

Overall: This beer nearly drove me to tears. It is truly extraordinary. All I could think while drinking it was "WOW." It’s taken me a while to write this review, because my experience was beyond words. I got into craft beer around 2-3 years ago, taking brewery tours, hunting down rare/seasonal beers, trading with friends, and having tasting parties with friends and coworkers. Sometimes I would pay around 3-4 times the amount of a good craft 6-pack for a single bomber/750mL bottle of a rare brew. People are always astonished at the price of some of the rarer beers, most of them saying something along the lines of “that’s so overpriced.” Sometimes I agree — there are definitely some overpriced beers that are not good enough to warrant a $20+ asking price for a 750mL. I treat these beers like liquid gold, making sure to savor every drop. The moment I took my first sip of DFH 120, I was flooded with memories of my first really fresh IPAs and DIPAs. It brought back the excitement I used to get from finding an incredible new brew that pushed all of the right buttons for me — beautiful colors, intoxicating smells, bitter floral and citrus flavors, and a juicy mouthfeel, leaning towards the dry side. Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA is everything that made me love craft beer in the first place. It has become my reference IPA. Something to compare all others to. Something to remember fondly. Something to define my tastes. It's hard to overstate my satisfaction.

Huge thanks to Dogfish Head for making one for the hardcore IPA fans. I think I can easily say that 120 Minute IPA has earned its way into one of my top 5 favorite beers of all time. If I’ve ever had anything close to a perfect beer, this is it. I’ve finally peaked. I guess that should make me sad because I don’t know if I’ll ever find anything more delicious, but it makes me happy, because I feel lucky to have been able to find, enjoy, and savor this exquisite brew over easily one of the best hours of my life. It is simply out of this world. It is everything that is craft beer. Bravo, Dogfish Head. Bravo.

If I was stranded on an island and I could only bring an endless supply of one type of beer with me, this would be the one. I do believe this is the greatest beer I've ever drank in my life. The flavor is awesome and the feeling I get from one is generally clean and positive. I think that sounds strange, but I believe it to be true. Every time I drink this beer I feel happy, whereas with some other beers (not all, of course) it can be quite the opposite.

I challenged Tennessee trey to game of horseshoes and won. Payout was supposed to be a watermelon but dang ole trey gave me two of these instead. Me and Jesse fired these things down and howled at the moon. Tastes like rubbing alcohol and malt.

To be fair, I tasted this one after it had been aged for years, and can't say what it's like fresh. But this one, while awesome and powerful, may be too powerful for any one man to handle, like a genie, or a nuke. Tons of flavor, but perhaps too rich. I forget the abv of that particular one, but it was probably up to at least 20% by the time I had it. So heavy, it almost clogs your throat. The hops are choked, suffocated, and smothered with a pillow by the malts who seem to have grown in power of the years. I love this beer the way I love those ridiculous Fast and Furious movies - I feel like a testosterone junkie just being in the same room with it. I'd have it again when I feel like doing some serious damage to my body - yes, this is about as masochistic a beer as I can remember having.

Anybody who's had a colonoscopy knows how hard it is to drink the prep. You hold your nose and do anything possible to distract yourself from the thick sickenly sweet, perfumely, pungent, syrup that's about to enter your body. I find myself doing the same with this brew. The sweetness is too much to take. The smell is not pleasant, and the mouth feel, combined with the above conspires to make the whole experience unpleasant. I tried really hard to finish the bottle, but alas, it's down the drain.

Aroma - rum-soaked shortbread and caramel. A boozy citrusy element that is not like Grand Marnier, but it makes me think of it just the same. A touch of plums and soy.

Taste - hard Christmas candy with the weird fruit filling. Light citrus but its there. Extremely warming in the throat and belly, mmm. A light smack of hops, not near enough to balance, just gives a little nip. Some light soy and/or anise as well. Lots of fun flavors to pick out and enjoy. Unbelievably easy to drink for its strength. Yes, the alcohol is certainly evident but the beer's flavors are plenty intense and integrated enough for it to work out wonderfully.

Mouthfeel - impressive carbonation seven+ years later. The body is big without becoming heavy, which could lend too much weight to the sugary aspects of the beer.

Overall - Excellent stuff at both three and seven years, I'll give a new bottle a whirl next time, though I suspect fresh hops rule the day. Toasting 20K on the fitbit - cheers!
***

Aroma - a new experience on this one. I pick up the initial expected fruit and booziness, though not to the degree I expected. But then I get this unmistakeable spicy aroma. A cooking spice, what is it, I know the smell...then it hits my brain - curry! Are my hands clean? Sure enough, and I just washed out the glass from my last beer. Sniff again - curry again. Perhaps this is the effect on my senses when hops get over-saturated into a beer? I don't know. I like curry but I am unsure of what to expect on the taste. 3.5

Taste - wow. No curry here, but this is in the 'beer candy' genre. Intensely sweet, as if it's been concentrated. Orange candy, honey, pineapple, some mildly spicy hop component, and now and then a breath of that curry, but barely. Big alcohol finish, but not as brash as I thought it'd be. Beautifully supportive of the hops flavor, I don't think I can remember a beer being so hoppy and yet so sweet instead of bitter. Without fail, every time I take a sip, I get a whiff of that curry, but it generally does not appear in the flavor profile with any force. Finishes wet, warm and coating. 5

Mouthfeel - very thick, the carbonation holds its own among the heavyweight flavors. 5

Drinkability - I am so glad I grabbed this and am hopeful that I can wait another 5 or 6 years to sample the other one. 5

Fresh ass bottle... bottled 4/8, poured 5/4. I know, people say to age it or whatever, well I wanted to try it fresh. $12 for a 12oz bottle. My "May the 4th be With You" beer. Off we go.

Appearance: Who saw that coming? This is a hazy copper orange color with half a finger of a creamy head and a fair amount of lacing. I was anticipating a flat looking beer... this looks fantastic.

Smell: Intensely huge. Lots of alcohol, but also quite a bit of fruity hops with great malt sweetness. For some reason, all together, I actually get a slight maple syrup aroma out of this at times which I think is phenomenal... now that I'm thinking about it, maple syrup barrel aged IPA, anyone?

Taste/feel: Well, follows the nose. What a monster. The alcohol in one sense is really well hidden -- I don't think this is a very hot beer. It's not burning me going down. Also, I don't find that it dries my mouth up after every sip. However... there's a definite boozy taste, but that's to be expected at 18%. Pretty intense alcohol flavor up front fades with loads of fruity and tropical tasting hops with a surprisingly not overbearing amount of malt sweetness... I figured this would be super sweet, boozy, and hot, and it's not all that. The feel is syrupy in body, but there's a nice bit of lively carbonation to balance it out.

First sniff and taste I wasn't huge on this... but it has grown on me. This beer reminds me of Moltov Cocktail Heavy just in that it's the only triple IPA I've had at 18%. For me, Heavy is a slightly sweeter and definitely hotter beer with a little more flavor depth. 120 is actually a little bitter (or at least less sweet), but the flavors aren't quite as good.

120 is fabulous. It's definitely a beer that's maybe too intense for its own good, but that's the point of it. I know Dogfish says this ages well, but I don't know if I would bother doing that as it would just taste like sweet booze.. I enjoy the hop characteristics and everything that it is right now. If I had a handful of bottles, I'd try aging one, but to me, you're better off drinking this one fresh.

Growing up in South Jersey, Dogfish Head was my introduction to craft beer. I've always been a fan of 60, 90, and chicory stout, but Sam Calagione's general attitude and approach to brewing has always driven me up a wall. Rather than putting forth ANY effort to craft a decent, nuanced beer, he makes novelties. I'd knock them for just trying to remain relevant, but it's always been their approach. "I bet if I brew this beer to 55% abv, use an old board game to create a continuous hopping mechanism, and include an ingredient from every continent, History Channel will give me a show!"

This beer is pretty bad, and people give it decent ratings only because it's a novelty. Oh yeah, don't age it. Dogfish never really understood cellaring beer, and when they realized same, they peppered their website with nonsense like "people may tell you that you shouldn't age fresh, hoppy ales, but remember, do what you love." If you give this a full year in pitch black at cellar temps, it comes out tasting like the same beer but more astringent. A true disaster.

Smell: Alcohol. Incredibly astringent. There may even be a beer down there that wants to smell like something, but it can't. 2.25

Taste: Alcohol. Again, please note, there is a beer under there, and you may taste some fruity hops trying to punch through. This might entice you to let this beer age for a while, but don't be fooled. Those beer flavors are the first to go when this baby spends some time in a cellar. 2.5

Feel: I don't even know; my mouth is numb. I would guess 190 proof everclear mixed with orange juice, but I haven't touched that since high school, so I can't confirm. I think I'll say 2.25

A: deep golden, turning to medium brown body. little to no head, though its more carbonation than I expected for the age of this bottle. doesnt look likemuch but I didnt buy it to look at it.

S: loads of sugar, and sweet candied fruit, raisons, some more tropical as well. no hops whatsoever. a little booze and a bit of toffee. plenty of carmelization.

T/M: nice viscosity, thick but coating and pretty drinkable considering. lots o' malt and sugar. very sweet. the hops have completely faded from this brew leaving this big thick and sweet body thats out of balance. plenty of juicy tropical fruits, even some candy qualities, a little cloying. hints of rum.

D: what can one say? a 21% DIPA? come one. this beer exists in its own world where mere mortal language and concepts arent sufficient. who knows? just drink one and you know what can never be said.

while my score for this isnt very high I enjoyed this brew and was impressed at how well it held up. the label says you can age it for a decade or so but i suspect you'd have really expensive paint thinner by then and not much else. get this sucker fresh, despite the alcohol content, dont make the mistake of cellaring this thing.

It's a deep and cloudy copper-orange. I get a big frothy-white head out of this puppy, which is awesome considering the alcohol content.

The nose is pure-sweet-big-malt. Like a barleywine with the candied fruits. Sherry, raisin, prune, caramel, boozy and fruity and sweet. It's a fortified wine or liqueur from this nose, for sure.

First sip.. sweet... an orange liqueur is not far from it, but it's obviously hopped. What and interesting beer. Almost cloying but it's warranted!? I don't know.Can't quite place it. It's maybe the most intense version of an American Barleywine you can find. Hoppy and boozy and sweet, yet somehow it makes it work. For whatever ABV my version is, it is not as obvious as I have noticed with other double digit beers. Definitely more balanced and hidden than Molotov Cocktail. It's surprisingly smooth, but the sweetness keeps it a sipper. I don't know if it's possible, but even more hops could be expressed in this malt backbone if they wanted, because there is a COLOSSAL dosage of sweetness and alcohol. IPA this is not. BA needs a new style that is neither American Barleywine nor Imperial IPA. Evil Twin, Knee Deep and DFH have offerings into this unique style.

If you ever find yourself staring across from this beer... no matter the price point, it is something you must try as a beer nerd. Nuff Said.

Acknowledging this was a 9-month old bottle, so perhaps the more identifiable hop notes had disappeared by now, but otherwise I'm hard pressed to conceive how this can be called an IPA. Incredibly sweet, overwhelmingly so, the sweetness cut simply by the warming booze. Perhaps as it warmed some acidic hop notes emerge, but they're quiet at best and do nothing to stem the tide of sickeningly sweet malt and booze. I applaud the novelty of it all and the effort to experiment/expand our notion of beer...but this just falls incredibly flat.

Appearance: Pours out a bright orange as it flows into your glass, it gets a bit darker-a brownish/orange murky color towards the center. Mild carbonation, and a nice had on top. The head is an off white color and thins out into a multitude of islands covering the top of the beer. Very strong lacing in this ale marks every sip you take.
Smell: Strong hops, grapefruit and orange zest, you can pick up a slight melon aroma the first second on every sniff. There are some other spices I here that make this one hell of a great smelling ale.
Taste: This has a very complicated taste to it, the dryness hits you first and then it breaks up into a whole mess of flavors, hops, orange zest, spices and more. Its very earthy for a DIPA and not overpowering with hops either. Grapefruit and brown sugar seem to mix together as it moves toward the back of your throat. The alcohol is up front in this ale. Its mildly tart on the edges of your mouth.
Mouthfeel: Starts of smooth for the first quick half second, semi dry and full bodied. The alcohol becomes most evident right before you swallow.
Overall: This is one great DIPA and was well worth the wait, I can’t wait to taste this one again, definitely one of the best beers I’ve had in a while.

A - Hazy gold body, medium off-white head. Fades mostly to a thin layer. No lacing.
S - Smells thick. Heavy citrus, grapefruit, I get some biscuit malt there too.
T - Holy hops! Heavy on the hops. Bitterness is overwhelming and then the malt backbone is overwhelming I imagine these both mellow with age. There is a lot going on here. Boozy burn at the end drys everything out and lingers.
M - Thick, low carb. Coats the palate and then dries out. Leaves a slight numbness.
O - This is not an everyday beer, or even every month. This is a special beer for special occasions. Treat it as such. I enjoyed this over a 2 hour period and appreciated the changes as it warms. This is a great beer, but is difficult to find and expensive when you do. For me, personally, that takes away from the beer. Definitely worth a try if you're curious. You won't find too many beers like it.

Bought 2 , i guess late 2015/eRly 2015. Totally Lived up to the hype. I bought 2 with the idea of aging. Not going to happen. Cant wait for the next special occasion to break it open. Next friday will do.

Un-aged, as fresh as possible, pouring orange amber, 120 shows a surprising amount of tan carbonation. It sounds like cola, showing a lot of promise, but disappears just as quickly, leaving only champagne like bubbles. The alcohol leaves some legs on the glass, like wine.

Smells like a full-on pine forest, with candy, caramel, and grapefruit combining in such a way I've not experienced before, all coming together as one. Graham and honey aromas surface as it warms, and then some cannabis, gasoline, juniper, tobasco, green apple, and wood. It's intriguing but kind of a hot mess.

Again, hot ass pine forest emerges first in flavor. Actually, it tastes more like a wild fire. Then, grapefruit-cherry cough syrup. This is extreme, but what else would you expect from this? Also got some toast, graham, grain, and corn.

At times, there is an unreal amount of froth on the palate for the style and ABV. But all in all, it is truly wine-like, even without aging. This is some really hot, fire-breath inducing booze.

Feel- Full bodied, very thick and syrupy, coats the mouth. Finishes slightly dryer due to alcohol notes. Lower carbonation.

Overall- Incredible sweetness, layers of bready malts and sugary sweet flavors. Hop character has faded back, just a touch of pine on the finish. Love how the fruity flavors mix so well with the boozy alcohol notes. Its brash and aggressive, very enjoyable.

The 2014 amazing, such a big beer but still smooth. Nice mouth feel, full flavour but not silly. The thing that amazed me is the bitterness was so understated, just malty MF nice. Big it was not around 18 percent I would go another

A - A normal pour creates 1-finger of dense, khaki head. The body is a very hazy, burnt orange, looking almost like a pulpy fruit juice. There are small bubbles consistently making their way toward the surface behind the cloudy body. The head sustains at 1/4 finger ring around the edges, and a thin, lacy film through the middle. There are really nice, lacy rings left on the glass.

S- I'm initially hit by a load of hops, mostly grapefruit, but there's a big, sweet, malt backbone behind it that comes off as caramel or English toffee. Another whiff and the aroma melds into a tobacco leaf and leathery goodness. Within the sweetness, the alcohol becomes apparent. Not harsh, but something of fruit brandy (like apricot or even a cherry cordial). Hops become more spicy too.

T- Whoa! There's a lot going on here. Very sweet up front, something like brown sugar and maple syrup. Then the hops kick in through the middle, bringing a leafy and spicy quality. The finish is a combination of the sweet and hoppy. More of the brown sugar, but with a juicy hop that combines grapefruit and spicy aspects. Things don't change too much with warmth, but become more pronounced. The spicy hops begin to hint at freshly cracked black pepper toward the end.

M- Very full bodied. High viscosity. The hops provide a spicy bite and combine with the extreme ABV that adds a smooth, warm heat. All in all, the finish becomes rather dry after the syrupy sweet mouthful.

O- I'm so glad my wife pulled the trigger for me. I've been tempted every time I see it on the shelf, but walked away due to the cost combined with an apprehension over the perceived flavor profile. This is definitely a one and done sipper for the evening, but I'd be more than tempted to pick up a few more, maybe one to drink fresh and one to lay down for some aging.

M: It's got some bite! Sky high IBU and sky high alcohol, as it turns out, is intense. Abrasive, but not astringent.

O: Barely fun even as a novelty. It seems like they got a little lazy, trying to make it as extreme as possible and any positive characteristic was a lucky side effect. Insane bitterness and ridiculous hop character is intriguing, but not when the smell and flavor make me worry if I'm going to go blind. I'm glad I didn't, and glad I got to try it, but now our relationship is over. Sorry 120, it's you.

A hop bomb just went off in my apartment. Wow, this thing is a slow burner that doesn't allow you to appreciate the hops or ABV until a moment after you've finished. Like a habanero pepper that's "not that hot" until about 15sec later

Super aggressive and super fun.
start off with this beast, splitting it up with friends, will help get the party started right. = enter BEAST MODE 120
suggest you don't drink more then 1 and go with a session-able beer after this